Tuan Van Doan, Asia regional adviser for the aid group Save the Children, has told Asia Pacific the change of direction left local communities there little time to prepare.

"The local authorities learned about the typhoon's new direction only yesterday morning and only in the afternoon they started to mobilise the community for large scale evacuation," he said.

"Obviously it's left the communities and authorities with too little time for preparation, especially for any large-scale evacuation."

The Red Cross said Haiyan's changed path meant that "the disaster area could be enlarged from nine provinces to as many as 15", stretching the country's resources.

China has issued a typhoon alert for Hainan island, Guangdong and Guangxi.

All schools were ordered shut in the capital Monday and extra police were dispatched to redirect traffic in flood-prone areas.

Many of the estimated 200,000 people evacuated in four south-central provinces initially thought to be in the storm's path have been allowed to go back to their homes, according to the government's website.

The storm is forecast to continue moving north before turning north-east and dissipating rapidly.